Painting

Dateca. 1825

MediumPaint on cotton velvet

DimensionsUnframed: 14 1/8 x 19 3/8in. (35.9 x 49.2cm) and Framed: 18 x 23 1/4in.

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1931.403.3

DescriptionA still life arrangement of fruits in a basket set on a mat or tabletop. A bird perched atop the fruit twists its head down and back to peck at the strawberries displayed at the top of the assortment of fruit, and a butterfly is seen in the air to the left. The mat or tabletop is daubed to suggest marble.

Label TextMore than twenty-five examples of the Fruit, Bird and Butterfly group have been recorded, suggesting that the instructions for executing this design were likely printed and widely distributed. Minor variations indicate that amateur artists completed many of the details to suit their individual tastes. Living creatures like the bird and butterfly are absent from many theorem patterns, but here they are dynamic additions to the basket containing milkweed pods and a variety of fruits, including grapes, peaches, and pears.

ProvenanceFound in Boston, Mass. and purchaed by Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY; purchased from Halpert by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., in 1931; loaned to CWF by Rockefeller in 1935 and given to CWF by her in 1939.

Exhibition(s)